After making a bid for Colorado governor as a third party candidate in 2010, the former GOP congressman known nationally for his outspoken and hardline stance on illegal immigration, Thursday announced he's running for governor again, in 2014, but this time as a Republican.FULL POST

"He's a Republican, but tough crap; I don't care if he's a Republican, he's not the right candidate," Tancredo said.

Tancredo confirmed to CNN that until now he was willing to withdraw his third party candidacy if—and only if—Maes was willing to drop out of the race and allow the party to replace him with another candidate.

"He can't win," Tancredo said of Maes. "He's not a credible candidate."

Describing himself as "an outspoken critic of the anchor baby phenomenon," the former five-term Republican congressman said the question of who is a citizen should be resolved by the courts.

If elected, Tancredo vowed he would trigger a court fight by denying public school funding to the children of illegal immigrants.

Tancredo also said he would force the issue "through the mechanism we use to fund education. We could say for instance that we are not going to provide support for people, the children of people who are here illegally."

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo is scheduled to formally announce his bid for governor as the nominee of the American Constitution Party on Thursday.

(CNN) - Former Rep. Tom Tancredo officially jumps into Colorado's gubernatorial race Thursday. The long time conservative Republican is scheduled to formally announce his bid for governor as the nominee of the American Constitution Party. An event is planned for later Thursday in Lakewood, Colorado.

Tancredo says he is launching a third party candidacy because he doesn't believe that either of the two current GOP gubernatorial candidates can beat Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the likely Democrat nominee. Tancredo called on Scott McInnis and Dan Moes, who have both been beset by scandals, to withdraw from the general election race after the August 10 primary, if polls suggest that Hickenlooper is far ahead. Both candidates say they are staying in the race.

(CNN) – Conservative firebrand Tom Tancredo will run for governor of Colorado despite strident objections from the state GOP, the former congressman is set to announce later Monday.

Tancredo floated the possibility of a third-party gubernatorial run last week, demanding that the two-current GOP candidates who have both been beset by scandals withdraw from the race after the August 10 primary if polls show Democrat John Hickenlooper far ahead.

The Republicans - Scott McInnis and Dan Maes - both scoffed at Tancredo's threat, prompting the onetime Republican presidential candidate to step up his announcement.

"I will officially announce at noon that I will seek the nomination of the constitution party," Tancredo told The Denver Post.

The move gave rise to a heated exchange between Tancredo and Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams on local radio station KHOW Monday, with the two men descending into a shouting match over what is best for the Colorado Republican party.

"Why don't you wait until after the primary?" Wadhams implored Tancredo.

"Because you know as well as I do, if I am going to run, I have to get going," responded Tancredo. "There is no downside for either one of these guys to simply say 'If I am not ahead at that time I will get out.'"

McInnis, a prominent Colorado lawyer apologized earlier this month for plagiarizing several passages of a judge's work in producing a series of essays for which he was paid $300,000 to write as part of a fellowship in 2003. Maes, meanwhile, is facing political troubles too, agreeing earlier this month to pay more than $17,000 in a fine for campaign finance violations.

Sen. McCain's daughter Meghan said Monday that young people are turned off by the Tea Party movement.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain's daughter called into question the political stature of the Tea Party movement Monday and sharply criticized a former congressman for his controversial comments at a recent major gathering of these conservative activists.

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado, slammed President Obama on the first night of the Tea Party convention last week in Nashville. Tancredo, known for his outspoken views on illegal immigration and his disdain for Sen. McCain, charged during his speech that "People who could not even spell the word 'vote', or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama."

Tancredo also expressed relief that Sen. McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, lost his White House bid. "Thank God John McCain lost the election," Tancredo said.

Sen. McCain's daughter Meghan said Monday that young people are turned off by the Tea Party movement.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain's daughter called into question the political stature of the Tea Party movement Monday and sharply criticized a former congressman for his controversial comments at a recent major gathering of these conservative activists.

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado, slammed President Obama on the first night of the Tea Party convention last week in Nashville. Tancredo, known for his outspoken views on illegal immigration and his disdain for Sen. McCain, charged during his speech that "People who could not even spell the word 'vote', or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama."

Tancredo also expressed relief that Sen. McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, lost his White House bid. "Thank God John McCain lost the election," Tancredo said.

Nashville, Tennessee (CNN) – The organizer of the Tea Party Convention says he agrees with Tom Tancredo's description of President Barack Obama as a socialist.

The former congressman from Colorado and 2008 Republican presidential candidate blasted President Obama, saying "people who could not even spell the word 'vote', or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama."

Tancredo made his comments Thursday night as he gave the kickoff speech for the convention, which is being held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville.

Judson Phillips, a Tennessee lawyer who formed Tea Party Nation and who organized what's being billed as the first national Tea Party Convention, told reporters Friday that "Tom Tancredo gave a fantastic speech last night. I think he is an amazing politician."

Asked if he agrees with Tancredo's description of Obama, Phillips said "the word socialist is a word you don't want to be labeled with in the American Political system. It's got a lot of negative connotations, but it also has a very specific political meaning. It refers to a specific political ideology. I think it is very clear that that is the political ideology of Barack Obama."

Phillips added that he thinks "Tancredo doesn't feel like a lot of people who supported Barack Obama understand the basics of this country."

“According to Newsweek, the Tancredo campaign has already won,” he said during a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa.

After announcing his decision to drop out of the race, Tancredo endorsed Mitt Romney's presidential bid, saying the former Massachusetts governor’s views came closest to his own stance on illegal immigration, and that he “could go the distance” and win the presidency.

Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, is a fierce proponent of stricter illegal immigration laws, but his campaign struggled to gain traction with the Republican primary voters, despite the fact that his signature issue is a top concern among GOP primary voters this cycle.